{{Short description|Regulations and standards for food labeling}} {{Other uses|Nutrition facts label}} [[File:Fuji apple with PLU code.jpg|thumb|A bar code label on a Fuji apple]] The packaging and labeling of food is subject to regulation in most regions/jurisdictions, to prevent false advertising and to promote food safety, and increasingly to provide greater information to consumers relating to quality or lifestyle concerns.
The regulation of food labels has evolved alongside the industrialization of food production and the growth of global mass food markets. In many countries, early food laws focused on preventing adulteration and fraud, often by mandating clear product names and ingredient listings. Over time, governments developed more detailed regulatory frameworks to manage food quality and public health through standardized labeling.<ref>{{cite book |last=Frohlich |first=Xaq |title=From Label to Table: Regulating Food in America in the Information Age |publisher=University of California Press |date=2023-10-17 |isbn=978-0-520-97081-6}}</ref> Scholars have noted that as food systems scaled up and grew more impersonal, regulators across regions—from Europe and North America to East Asia—began using labels to simulate the trust once derived from local, interpersonal food markets. Labels became instruments of “informational governance,” conveying safety, nutritional value, and even moral or environmental claims.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Frohlich |first=Xaq |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/jj.7794619 |title=From Label to Table: Regulating Food in America in the Information Age |date=2023-10-17 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-97081-6 |edition=1 |doi=10.2307/jj.7794619}}</ref> This trend reflects a global shift toward transparency in food commerce, often relying on scientific authority and consumer rights to shape regulatory standards.
== Regulations by type == {{expand list|date=August 2016}}
===Multi-faceted=== * Codex Alimentarius (international voluntary standard)
===Ingredients and basic nutrition===
* Calorie count laws (restaurants) * Ingredients list * Nutrition facts label * [Name & address of manufacturer] * [Date:]
=== Nutritional rating systems ===
* Nutri-Score * Traffic light rating system * Health Star Rating System
===Veracity===
* False advertising * Health claims
===Food-handling materials=== [[File:EU food contact material symbol.svg|thumb|right|200px|The wine glass and fork food safe symbol]] * Food safe symbol
=== Specific foods === * Olive oil regulation and adulteration * Food grading labels * Instructions for Use * Exp: Date
=== Vegan === * "Certified Vegan" by Vegan Awareness Foundation trademark for vegan companies and organizations<ref>{{cite web|title=Certifying organization information|url=http://www.greenerchoices.org/eco-labels/organization.cfm?OrganizationID=127&searchType=Organization%20Index&searchValue=&refpage=organizationIndex&refqstr=|access-date=20 September 2015}}</ref> * "PETA-Approved Vegan" by PETA for vegan products (clothing and accessory companies), United States, available worldwide<ref>{{cite web|title=PETA-Approved Vegan|url=http://www.peta.org/living/fashion/peta-approved-vegan-logo/|access-date=20 September 2015}}</ref> * "Sunflower symbol" by The Vegan Society, United Kingdom trademark for vegan food, available worldwide<ref>{{cite web|title=The Vegan Trademark|url=https://www.vegansociety.com/the-vegan-trademark|access-date=22 March 2024}}</ref> * "V-Label" by the European Vegetarian Union, Swiss trademark for vegan items (specified by product), available worldwide<ref name="v-label">{{cite web|title=Vegetarian Label by EVU|url=http://v-label.eu/|access-date=20 September 2015}}</ref><ref name="swissveg">{{cite web|title=Swissveg V-Label|url=http://www.swissveg.ch/v-label|access-date=29 September 2015}}</ref> *"Biocyclic Vegan" by BNS Biocyclic Network Services Ltd., Cyprus, for vegan organic production (e.g. vegetable production without manure)<ref>{{Cite web|title=About us|url=http://www.biocyclic-vegan.org/about-us/|access-date=2021-01-03|website=BIOCYCLIC VEGAN STANDARD|language=en-US}}</ref>
=== Vegetarian === * "The green dot symbol" (Vegetarian mark), Indian requirement for food, available worldwide<ref>{{cite web|title=India's Vegetarian Mark|url=http://vegetarianmark.net/|access-date=20 September 2015}}</ref> * "V-Label" by the European Vegetarian Union, Swiss trademark for vegan and vegetarian items (specified by product), available worldwide<ref name="v-label"/><ref name="swissveg"/> * "Vegetarian Society Approved" by the Vegetarian Society, United Kingdom, available worldwide<ref>{{cite web|title=Vegetarian Society Approved Website|url=https://www.vegsoc.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=650|access-date=20 September 2015|archive-date=5 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905062912/https://www.vegsoc.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=650|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=VegSoc Approved|url=http://www.vegsocapproved.com/corporate08/index.asp|access-date=29 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151010024532/http://www.vegsocapproved.com/corporate08/index.asp|archive-date=10 October 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>
=== Farming practices === * Free range * Grass fed beef * Organic certification * Sustainable agriculture ** UTZ Certified
=== Religious certifications === * Halal (Islamic dietary laws) * Kashrut (Kosher foods in Jewish law)
=== Controversies === * Ag-gag
=== Named geographic origin === * Appellation * Geographical indication * Country of origin * Protected Geographical Status (European Union) * Appellation d'origine contrôlée (France) * Denominazione di Origine Controllata (Italy)
=== Genetic and commercial origin ===
* Labeling of genetically modified food * Produce traceability * Standards of identity for food
=== Preparation at site of consumption === * Shake well
=== Pricing === * Pay what you want (PWYW) * Pay what you can (PWYC) * Dine and dash * Maximum retail price (MRP)
=== Safety information === * Alcohol abuse * Danger zone (food safety) * Five-second rule * Food allergy * Food intolerance * Food safety * Food sampling * Food spoilage * International Food Safety Network * ISO 22000 * Shelf life dates ("Use by" and "Best before") * Warning label * Food Allergen Declaration [https://web.archive.org/web/20190907100136/https://www.fda.gov/food/food-allergensgluten-free-guidance-documents-regulatory-information/food-allergen-labeling-and-consumer-protection-act-2004-questions-and-answers#:~:text=FALCPA%20is%20an%20amendment%20to,did%20Congress%20pass%20this%20Act%3F FALCPA]
== By region == * FAO GM Foods Platform * Food Administration
=== Asia ===
==== India ==== * Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) — the statutory body established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, to regulate and supervise food safety in India.<ref>{{cite web |title=Food Safety and Standards Authority of India |url=https://www.fssai.gov.in/ |website=FSSAI |publisher=Government of India |access-date=2025-08-18}}</ref>
==== Thailand ==== * Phuket: "Yellow flag" for vegetarian food during ‘ngan kin jeh’ vegetarian festival
=== North America ===
==== Canada ==== * Food and Drugs Act * Monsanto Canada Inc v Schmeiser
==== Mexico ==== * NOM-051-SCFI/SSA1-2010
==== United States ====
{{Main|Early history of food regulation in the United States|Regulation of food and dietary supplements by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration}} * Acceptable Market Name * Adulteration of Coffee Act 1718 * American Agricultural Law Association * Dietary exposure assessments in the United States * Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 * Fair Packaging and Labeling Act (US) — enacted in 1966, requiring product identity, manufacturer, and net quantity labeling.<ref>{{cite web |title=Fair Packaging and Labeling Act |url=https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/statutes/fair-packaging-labeling-act |website=Federal Trade Commission |publisher=U.S. Government |access-date=2025-08-18}}</ref> * Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 — mandated standardized nutrition labeling and regulated health claims on food packages.<ref>{{cite web |title=Overview of Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 |url=https://www.fda.gov/food/food-labeling-nutrition/overview-food-labeling |website=U.S. Food and Drug Administration |publisher=FDA |access-date=2025-08-18}}</ref> * FDA Food Safety Modernization Act * Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act * Federal Meat Inspection Act * Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007 * Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act of 1997 * Food libel laws * Food Quality Protection Act * Generally recognized as safe * Global Food Security Act of 2009 * Kevin's Law * Mandatory country-of-origin labeling of food sold in the United States * Personal Responsibility in Food Consumption Act * Public Law 114-214, regulating GMO food labeling * Pure Food and Drug Act — passed in 1906, it prohibited misbranded or adulterated food and laid the foundation for modern U.S. food law.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 |url=https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/pure-food-and-drug-act |website=U.S. National Archives |publisher=National Archives |access-date=2025-08-18}}</ref> * Standards of identity for food * Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations * ''United States v. Correll'' * ''United States v. Ninety-Five Barrels Alleged Apple Cider Vinegar''
=== Europe === ====European Union==== * Regulation (EC) No. 834/2007 of 28 June 2007 on organic production and labelling of organic products * Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 — on the provision of food information to consumers.<ref>{{cite web |title=Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers |url=https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32011R1169 |website=EUR-Lex |publisher=European Union |date=2011-11-25 |access-date=2025-08-18}}</ref> * Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs: defines "labelling" as "any words, particulars, trade marks, brand name, pictorial matter or symbol relating to a foodstuff and placed on any packaging, document, notice, label, ring or collar accompanying or referring to such foodstuff".<ref>{{cite web |title=Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs |url=https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32012R1151 |website=EUR-Lex |publisher=European Union |date=2012-11-21 |access-date=2025-08-18}}</ref>
==== United Kingdom ====
{{Main|United Kingdom food information regulations}} * Assize of Bread and Ale * McLibel case * The Weights and Measures (Packaged Goods) Regulations 2006 [http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2006/659/contents/made]
=== Oceania === * Food Standards Australia New Zealand
==== New Zealand ==== * Food Act 1981
=== South America ===
==== Brazil ==== * RDC Anvisa 429/2020 <ref>https://www.in.gov.br/en/web/dou/-/resolucao-de-diretoria-colegiada-rdc-n-429-de-8-de-outubro-de-2020-282070599</ref>
==== Chile ==== * Food Labelling and Advertising Law (Law 20.606, 2012) — requires front-of-package warning labels for high sugar, salt, calories, or fat.<ref>{{cite web |title=Law 20.606 on Nutritional Composition of Food and its Advertising |url=https://www.bcn.cl/leychile/navegar?idNorma=1041570 |website=Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional de Chile |publisher=Government of Chile |date=2012-07-06 |access-date=2025-08-18}}</ref>
== See also == * Food and drink prohibitions * Food safety * Food security
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{labeling}} {{Navboxes|list1= {{Consumer Food Safety}} {{labeling}} {{Meat}} {{Sausage}} }} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Food labeling regulations}} Category:Appellations Category:Brand management Category:Food law Category:Food packaging Category:Food labelling Category:Product certification Category:Product management Category:Regulation Category:Retailing-related lists Category:Religious dietary certification organizations Category:Religious consumer symbols